“And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12

The Attribute of Humility

As I grow in the Lord, I am made aware of the subtleties of my sin nature. After decades of walking with Him, I look good on the outside. I’m not doing drugs. I’m not stealing or deliberately lying, or getting drunk or whatever else may be gross, obvious, and offensive. Ah, but deep in me remains my flesh and my ego. And I want to do better in those inward realms as well.

One of the traits I want to grow in is humility. Humility means the state of being humble. Both it and humble have their origin in the Latin word humilis, meaning low. Humble is to not be proud or haughty. Humble is to not be arrogant.

At first glance we may think we are not proud or arrogant or haughty. And yet we talk too much and listen too little. We make everything about ourselves. In this culture, we live our lives with a sense of entitlement. We are overly concerned with our reputations and what others think of us. We take offense too easily. We readily defend our ingrained opinions. We put ourselves above others as though we were somehow better or right when they are so obviously wrong.

We may assume humility makes us weak or self-loathing. But humility is a healthy understanding of who we are. We are not the center of the universe. Everything is not about us. There are bigger things going on than our wants, our opinions, our judgments. There is a glorious God who creates and has higher purposes and greater glories than we can even imagine. We are sinners saved by grace. Therefore, we understand our lack, our unworthiness, and our failure to measure up. At the same time, we find our value and our worth comes from this same God who accounts us as His own, who has made us holy in His own righteousness, who directs our lives and gives us true purpose.

Humility is revealed when we are serving God and serving others. It is an attitude of submission and surrender to God’s will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

Consider what researchers of the quiet ego suggest happens when we gain control over our ego: we become less likely to act aggressively, manipulate others, or express dishonesty. Instead, we take responsibility and correct our mistakes, listen to others’ ideas, and keep our abilities in humble perspective. Am I building my own kingdom or God’s kingdom? Am I concerned with my own reputation and glory or His?

Humility. Getting our eyes off ourselves and fixing them on God. Looking to this great God and finding in Him all the acceptance, all the attention, and all the approval we will ever need.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11

Father, may we ever imitate our humble King. Amen.